General wind

[letsgetvertical]

Just out of interest, In what wind speed do you guys fly in, at the moment im trying to decide if its worth going out as the wind speed is gusting up to 13 knots and im not too sure about it, Im only learning to hover at the moment but i will need to deal with wind or it WILL catch me out - thank Allan

 

[Tony]

15mph gusts is not actually that bad. Especially with a 500 or bigger bird. A 450 size will bob up and down in it, but I have flown quite a lot in 15mph straight line wind with the 450. But here in Oklahoma, if you can't fly in the wind, you are never going to fly. So if your helicopter is setup correctly, then I would say give it a go, but do it with caution. Remember, translational lift will be the main factor here. Keep the forward flight into the wind as much as you can and when you go with the wind, prepare to give more collective to keep it in the air.

And most importantly, keep altitude. What is going to hurt the most is the swirling wind coming over a house or trees. If you get above that "dirty air", it's much easier to control.

 

[letsgetvertical]

Thanks, im just going out to have a go, i have a large open area about 10 football fields 200 yards from my house,

 

[Tony]

That should be enough to help clean up that dirty air. Just be ready and don't do my famous skid bounce because of the wind lmao.

 

[letsgetvertical]

I just need to get out there and do it, will try to video it if i can find somewhere to put my phone

 

[Derek]

Thanks, im just going out to have a go, i have a large open area about 10 football fields 200 yards from my house,

With this amount of open space that you are talking about, I imagine you'll be able to fly just fine. Just keep your focus on what the helicopter is doing...no worries.

I've flown my 450 in 15mph winds, and just as Tony said, it gets to be a very bouncy and twitchy flight. The 450 gets pushed around a bit. My 500 and 600 don't care, at all, about 15mph winds.

So...give it a go and get some video....have fun!

 

[letsgetvertical]

Well that was fun, 7 flights and not one crash, I found it quite a challenge with the wind blowing the heli all over the place, if anything its boosted my confidence a bit and im learning to control it better, wind was quite gusty and -2 deg C brrrrrrr, took a vid of 1st flight but didnt turn out too good

 

[Derek]

7 flights is definitely a confidence booster! Congratulations!!! Flying on calmer days is good fun but to be confident enough to fly in windier conditions really helps. Nice job!!!

 

[letsgetvertical]

was starting to find out how the wind was affecting flight as in massive lift and descent without altering collective, also transitional lift, this is new to me

 

[Tony]

Yeah, it can sure get the heart going, that's for sure. I just took my 450 out in this oklahoma wind (about 30mph straightline with higher gusts) after doing the video on the Ikon and the wind gusted up and the helicopter took off to about 40' in the air. Not good when you are in a driveway surrounded by buildings and trees just trying to get a shake down hover in lmao.

Congrats on the flights. And even though you say it's not the best video, post it up anyway!

 

[letsgetvertical]

You don't see much of my heli in this vid, phone was wedged in the grass lol

 

[Tony]

I think you did great on that flight! Keep up the great work.

I was watching that grass, and yeah, it was a little windy out there. Again, great job!

 

[letsgetvertical]

Thanks, that was my first flight i was much better on the others, need someone to film next time lol

 

[Tony]

And when you do film it next time, set the phone (if that is what you are using) on it's side. It should record in at least 720p and the picture will be much larger. But again, you did great. I couldn't tell when you went out of frame if you were getting into FF, but if your not, I think it's time to start doing so. As long as you have your orientations down pat.

 

[letsgetvertical]

That was the only way i could get my phone to balance lol, forward flight is my next move i think, im just gonna do what i feel comfortable with. Im back indoors on thursday so i'll experiment then

- - - Updated - - -

I was accidently in forward flight/reverse flight, banking left/right even going from left/right/left and doing it without thinking, so im looking at today as a small step forward by not being phased by orientation

 

[Tony]

Right on, just keep it up and you will be flying loops and stall turns before you know it.